CUPE Workers Send SFU a Message – Negotiate Now!

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY—CUPE’s 1,020 support workers at SFU have had enough. After more than two years of fruitless talks at the bargaining table, CUPE Local 3338 members have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action.

The 78 percent strike mandate was tallied last night after voting this week at SFU’s three campuses. The union must still file 72-hour strike notice at the BC Labour Board before taking job action.

CUPE 3338 president Lynne Fowler says the result clearly shows the level of frustration with the university, which has declined all efforts to bargain seriously since their contract expired in 2010. The main issues are job security, inflation protection and wages.

“We would rather be at the bargaining table negotiating in good faith for a fair and reasonable contract. Instead, we are moving towards strike action to try to pressure this employer to come to the table with a mandate to actually settle a contract,” says Fowler. She added that the university has repeatedly refused to seriously consider a single union proposal, opting instead to focus on the ailing SFU pension plan at a separate pension negotiating table.